Archive for the ‘Swords and Fencing’ Category

I’m currently reading Ken Mondschein‘s most excellent translation of Camillo Agrippa’s Treatise On The Science Of Arms, and the introduction full of details giving lots of background information got me thinking about a few things. In it, there is a description of the social context in which those who took up the sword lived which gives an insight on why they were doing so. And while we can try to comprehend what motivates a man to learn a weapon in order to both give himself a place on the social ladder as well as giving himself the means to preserve his own life, those are motivations which no longer apply to our modern world, and yet are crucial to the approach in which fencing masters were expecting their students to learn the art.

So how do we reconcile a need for self-defense and social recognition with the friendly activity that fencing has become today? Note that I use the word “friendly” in a genuine meaning, regardless of the amount of social or political conflict that might exist within or between groups today.

When it comes to fencing, one has to be really weary about the sort of material available on YouTube. The levels of skills are varied and it’s probably more prudent to assume that those skills only reflect the individual portrayed rather than the group as a whole.

Having said that, there’s 2 schools with a pretty good reputation (in my bokos anyway) which I wanted to present here.

First of all, just like the couple of post previous to this one, I apologise to the lack of daily picture. Like everything else, this kind of went down the pits of foresakeness (is that a word?). I’m still overdue and will get round to post the handful of photos I meant to post, ermm, 2 months ago.

Meanwhile, things have been trodding along and I haven’t quite properly blogged for a while.